Better than Neptune
by Eunoia
Summary: She plans to live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse. He thinks she just might. Because the lack of WeevilLilly is a crying shame.


_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or situations. Written for fun, not profit._

_Author's note: I also wondered why nobody ever writes what I imagine would have been the extremely interesting (not to mention scorchingly hot) canon pairing of Weevil/Lilly. So then I thought, why don't I do it? No major spoilers for season three, but definitely some for season two._

Weevil pulled up to the gates of the Echolls mansion and lowered his shades, catching sight of his grandmother's figure emerging from the front door. He sighed with relief, noting that that Echolls brat wasn't coming out to harass him, but quickly wished he could have retracted his sigh when he saw Lilly Kane, practically skipping out, with that obnoxious smile on her face.

"Come on, grandma," he called out in Spanish, sounding more impatient than he planned to. Weevil had never had a problem keeping his cool, but that Kane girl got under his skin and she knew it.

"Yeah, yeah, you impatient little bugger. It's not my fault my car's in the shop, now is it?"

"Oh, are you going with him, Mrs. Navarro?" Lilly asked brightly. "Because I thought you wanted to go over to my place and pick up those clothes I told you about."

"Oh, right." Weevil's grandmother turned to him and said, "Listen, I'm sorry Eli. I know you went out of your way to pick me up, but Miss Kane here has offered me a bunch of old clothes for Theresa. It's too much to carry on your bike, but she said she'd drive me over to her place to pick it up and then take me back to the house."

"I can't believe this. You taking charity now?"

"It's not charity, Eli. We've taken hand-me-downs from a good ten family friends, and given to just as many to others and you know it. She was just going to give them to a family friend who would never wear them anyway."

"Yeah, well, I'm just not sure I want Theresa dressing like _that_," he replied disdainfully, taking a lingering glance at Lilly's low-cut tank top and short shorts.

Lilly covered her mouth in mock indignation. At least he was assuming it was mock, as he doubted Lilly had ever been genuinely indignant in her life. "Are you going to let your grandson talk to a lady like that, Mrs. Navarro?"

The older woman snorted. "You're no lady."

Lilly laughed. "Touché," she replied with a curtsy.

Weevil did his best to hide his smile and maintain some level of cool detachment.

"So I guess we'll see you at your place in a bit, _Weevil_," Lilly said, saying his name in a way that made it sound like a word his grandma would have washed his mouth out with soap for saying as a kid.

He just shrugged. "Guess I don't have a choice." He got back on his bike and his grandmother got into the passenger seat of Lilly's car.

Half an hour later, Weevil was sitting and eating a sandwich in the kitchen when he heard the car pull up. He fought the urge to go out to the driveway. What was it about this girl, he wondered? She was no different than any other 09er slut, thinking she lived dangerously because she'd done a bit of coke that she'd never be busted for anyway and got caught blowing her boyfriend in the school bathroom. But every time she pranced by him in PE, her regulation cotton shorts rolled up at the waist so they fell barely below her butt, he felt his pulse race. He hated the lack of control he felt when he was around her. He'd never let himself become any woman's lapdog, like that pathetic Echolls kid.

Lilly entered the kitchen, almost walking into the wall as she struggled to balance the two garbage bags of clothes she was holding. Before he could think, he jumped up and grabbed them from her and carried them down the hall into Theresa's room.

"Thanks, _Weevil._ And they say chivalry's dead. There's more in the car, if you really want to be a gentleman," Lilly said coyly over her shoulder as she walked back to the driveway. Weevil followed her despite himself and rolled her eyes as she exaggeratedly leaned across the car to grab the last bag.

"You're really a piece of work."

"Thank you," she replied, turning to him with a bright smile.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"You wanna know the secret to a happy life, Weevil? Take everything as a compliment."

He smiled despite himself. It seemed like everything he did around her was despite himself.

"I'm supposed to go have dinner with my grandparents now," she said in a tone that would have better fit a sentence proclaiming she was on her way to a death camp, "but all I feel like doing is going to the beach and getting loaded."

Looking at her then, stretching her arms above her head to reveal a strip of pale stomach, Weevil decided there was no point in fighting himself. He had never been one for denying easy pleasures. He reached over to his bike and handed her the helmet, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Now that's more like it," she said, and pulled the helmet on.

Weevil ran inside to get his keys, taking the porch steps in a single leap. His grandma angled her cheek towards him to get a kiss and he rolled his eyes, but gave it anyway, foolishly hoping that Lilly wouldn't see it and mock him for it. Before he could run out again, she grabbed him by the wrist and warned, "You watch out for that girl. She's trouble."

"You're the one that brought her here," he retorted.

"Because I thought you were more sensible than you're being."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle myself. She's just another ditzy 09er."

His grandmother did not look convinced. As he got on the bike and felt Lilly's arms wrap around his waist, he wasn't sure he was either.

That night at the beach (after Lilly had gotten wasted and jumped him on the platform of the lifeguard stand of course), Weevil lay on the sand, propping himself up on his elbows, and watched Lilly run into the water up to her ankles and then come speeding back out, cackling like a banshee, over and over again. Finally she tired of the game and flopped down beside him, her arm resting lightly on his chest like she had known him forever.

"You know," she whispered conspiratorially into his ear, "I only offered those clothes up so I could come see you."

"Really?" he asked, not at all surprised.

"What, did you think it was just because I'm such a charitable person?" she laughed.

He quickly sat up, shoving her arm away. "So it was charity, was it? Well, we don't need your charity."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "God, you're so defensive."

"Yeah, well I'm sick of you 09ers thinking you're better than us. Newsflash: not everybody wants to be you."

"Why do you insist on talking like you're the representative of your entire class, _Weevil?_ There's no us against them here. It's just you against me." She flipped her hair out of the way, smiled, and straddled him. "And I'm pretty sure I can take you."

"You are such a typical rich girl," he managed to get out and she ground against him.

"No, I'm not!" She leaned back and looked him in the eye. "I'm not the typical anything. And neither are you. You're better than 'your peeps,'" she said, putting air quotes around the last two words.

Weevil shook his head. "You have no idea how condescending you are, do you?"

"I prefer to think of it as honesty. Don't tell me you don't know you're better than them, smarter than them?" He moved to interject, but she covered his mouth with her hand. "Not just them, Weevil. You think you're such a badass, but you keep thinking about yourself as exactly what the town sees you as. But you're _better_ than Neptune. I wouldn't want to be here right now if you weren't."

It took Weevil a minute to get his bearings before he retorted, "Right, so you would still be here if I wasn't the guy your mommy and daddy saw in their nightmares. The only reason you want me is because I run the PCHers. Because I'm dangerous."

"Gee, Weeves. That really smacks of low self-esteem. Have you ever thought of talking to the guidance counselor? She's a total babe, if that's any added incentive."

She was leaning forward again now and her hair brushed against his face and suddenly he couldn't remember why they were arguing. Since when had he cared if the only reason someone wanted him was because of his status? He knew how things worked in Neptune. He wasn't going to convince himself she would have given him a second glance if he had been on the chess team. He knew better than that. So he pulled her face down and kissed her hard, rolling them over so she lay underneath him in the sand.

The sun was starting to rise by the time they left the beach. She insisted on riding back to his house with the helmet off, so she could feel the wind in her hair and then called him a pansy when he drove the speed limit.

"Why do I have to take that from you?" he asked teasingly as she leaned against her car back at the house. "I thought I was better than this town."

"I never said you were better than everyone in the town," she retorted, "just most people."

"So who am I not better than, just for future reference?" he asked.

"Well, me of course," she replied. "And Veronica. Aaand…that's about it I guess."

"Veronica?" he asked skeptically. "She of the pastel sweater sets?"

"Oh, Veronica'll surprise you. She'll let her out her inner red satin goddess when she needs to."

"And when might that be?" he laughed.

"When I'm not around to take care of her."

"Why? You goin' somewhere?"

"Well, I plan to live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse," she replied. Already in her car by this point, she leaned out the window and kissed him for longer than he was comfortable with with his grandmother glaring out the kitchen window at them.

"That seems like a distinct possibility!" he yelled after her, as she screeched out the driveway in her bare feet, seatbelt flapping in the wind, looking in the mirror only to reapply her lip gloss.

* * *

They met up regularly after that. Regularly, but not consistently, because Lilly didn't do anything consistently. They didn't usually go anywhere too public since neither of them had much desire to be seen with the other. Well, Weevil really didn't want to be seen. Lilly wanted to narrowly avoid being seen. Which was why whenever Lilly's mother had pissed her off more than usual, Lilly would sneak Weevil in through the back gate of her house. So far they had narrowly avoided being seen in Lilly's bedroom, her parent's bedroom, the back yard, the kitchen table, and (his personal favorite) her dad's Jag.

He complained occasionally, but she knew he loved it. "Admit it," she panted, as her head smeared a clearing in the fogged up windows, "You're loving sticking it to the man."

"Actually," he smirked, "I believe I'm sticking it to his daughter."

In her typical Lilly fashion, she just smiled, where another girl would have been offended. That's what he loved most about her; she didn't have any illusions. Well, that and a few slightly shallower reasons.

They didn't talk too much. Not about anything serious anyways. It would have been weird. Like they were breaking the terms of their agreement or something. That changed on the last night they spent together.

He was about to head out on his bike when he noticed her walking up the sidewalk towards him.

"Where's your car?" he called out.

"Felt like walking," she replied.

"You walked all this way?" he asked, looking around furtively before kissing her hello.

"Well," she smiled coyly, "I may have hitchhiked part of the way."

He wanted to laugh, but he worried about her. He didn't know when that had started. He used to like how crazy she was, but the more times he saw her almost kill herself because she had to go swimming while hopped up on e, or because she had to climb onto the roof of the school in the middle of a lightning storm the less endearing it became. He tried to look amused. "You're going to get yourself killed, Lill" was all he said.

Apparently he failed at feigning amusement because she jerked her arm away. "I don't need you to worry about me. I'm Lilly fucking Kane remember? Who's going to hurt me? My dad owns this town."

"That's exactly why someone would hurt you," he said and it came out angrier than he intended, because what he really wanted to say was "that's why you'd want to hurt yourself."

Instead of retorting, she just tilted her face up to him and said "Let's go somewhere."

"Lill, I've got to meet with the guys. Now that the Reaper's dead, things could really fall apart if I don't—."

Lilly put her finger over his mouth. "You _will_ be the next leader of the PCHers. It doesn't matter what you do. Those guys are sheep. They need you. Believe me, I understand sheep. I am head of the pep squad, after all."

"It's not as simple as that Lilly. Maybe they do need me. Maybe I need them too. That's what family's about. Of course you wouldn't understand that."

"Hey!" It was the first time he had ever heard serious anger in her voice. "Do you think that if something happened to Duncan, or to Veronica for that matter, that I would do anything other than go absolutely Buffy on their ass? Hell, I'd fuck you up even for messing with my parents. Because they're mine. You think I don't get that? You think I'm some sort of sociopath?"

"Hey. Hey, no." He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

She said something, her voice muffled against his neck. "What was that?" he asked.

"I said you have to go somewhere with me because it's my birthday."

He smiled, glad to be dealing with a Lilly that he understood. "Uh huh. You expect me to believe that if it was actually your birthday, you wouldn't have some giant bash over at Casa de Kane, complete with lobster, champagne and a surprise performance by Justin Timberlake?"

"There is. It's at Logan's house actually. He knows I know, but whatever. It was my mom's idea anyway. I told him I'd be over there an hour ago."

"There's a surprise party in your honor and you decide you'd rather hitch a ride over to the numbered streets? You really can be a selfish bitch sometimes, can't you?"

"Well, I try," she shrugged, her smile returning.

He hesitated for a minute and then asked "Can I at least use your cell phone?" When she raised her eyebrows inquisitively he said "I gotta call and let the guys know I ain't comin', don't I?"

She smiled widely, but it wasn't the triumphant smile he had expected. She looked…genuinely grateful. He shook his head and tried to clear it. He couldn't let himself fall for her mind games or he'd be just another one of her conquests. Although if he was being honest, he probably already was one.

They rode down to the beach and to his surprise she didn't seem to want to swim or screw or do anything really other than lay on the sand and stare up at the stars. When he couldn't stand the silence anymore he said "Sorry I didn't get you anything."

She laughed half-heartedly. "How the hell could you have known? Stop apologizing. You're making an ass of yourself."

God, she could piss him off like no one else. "What makes you think you can talk to me like that? I was trying to be nice!" he replied angrily.

She let out a tiny gasp then and if she were anyone else he would think she was on the verge of tears. "Eli?" she asked, and it was the first time she had said his name like that. She had called him Eli before, but she usually brandished it as a weapon, cutting at him to show that she had him in her grasp in a way he'd never have her in his. "Eli, let's run away. Let's get as far away from this fucking town as possible. Like, Timbuktu or something."

He was taken aback. "Timbuktu?"

"Or LA, whatever. Just, anywhere that's else."

"Lill…I've got responsibilities here. People that need me. I can't just…" He allowed the rational part of him to speak, but he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that wanted to hoist her up onto his bike and never look back. But he knew they wouldn't last and then he'd just be the jackass that skipped out on everybody that counted on him for some white chick who left him for the first fool with a trust fund she could find.

"Why do you have to be such a goddamn good guy!? I thought you were an asshole! You tape guys to flagpoles for looking at you funny, but suddenly you can't leave town because a bunch of losers need you to boss them around!?" She was standing now and yelling and he glanced around uneasily, hoping none of the passers-by were listening. Suddenly she lunged towards him and pressed herself against his chest, looking up into his eyes. "Do you love me, Eli?" she asked and all he could do was nod mutely. "Wrong answer," she responded sadly and then she was walking away towards the road.

"Lilly…" he called out after her.

She turned and now he could see she really was crying. "I'm a hypocrite, okay? I think I'm better than this town? I am this town! I'm Lilly fucking Kane and I am Neptune. And all those people waiting at Logan's house love me and they don't even know why. I'm a walking lie and I thought you got that, but now you love me too and I thought you knew better than that!" She practically spat this last bit out and then turned again, deaf to his protestations. He drove alongside her on the highway for half an hour, trying to convince her to get on the bike, until she finally promised she would call her brother for a ride.

The next day he tried to talk to her in gym class, but she just shrugged him off and then told the teacher she had cramps and was going to spend the period in the library instead. The next class, she had transferred out. The next week, she was dead.

It's hard to believe it's been years since everything, since Lilly. And now as he packs his few belongings into the back of his car, he remembers her voice. _You're better than Neptune._ He wishes it hadn't taken the loss of the PCHers to realize that maybe she had been right. And now that his grandma's gone, there's not much keeping him here.

Veronica pulls up then, in her ugly-ass new car. He starts to ask how she knew he was leaving, but she just smirks at him. A magician never reveals her secrets, doesn't he know? He gives her a hug and tells her to call him if she ever needs a favor. She heads to her car, but before she can pull away he calls out to her. "Hey V, try not to forget you're better than this town, okay?" She looks at him strangely, but he thinks she gets what he means.

Once she's gone, he gets in his car and pulls out of the driveway. He doesn't look back.


End file.
